Wheeler has since signaled that he is hopeful he will get a vote by the end of the year. the chairman has not said when he would leave the commission after the election.

That could depend on whether Democratic Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel stays on. She has to leave at the end of the year unless she gets confirmed, which would leave the commission with a Republican majority if Wheeler also left.

Rosenworcel has been re-nominated and unanimously endorsed by the Senate Commerce Committee, but her Senate confirmation vote has been held hostage to a fight between the Senate majority and minority leaders over process, promises and politics, a fight that has spilled over into holding up bipartisan telecom regulation.